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Thursday, July 17, 2014

An easy way to add richness to your memoir's stories

Consider placing
epigrams at the beginning of your memoir’s chapters or vignettes. (Usually an
epigram is centered under the chapter title or number.)

An epigram is a
concise saying that:

shines light on,

or summarizes,

clarifies,

focuses,

adds pizzazz or
sparkle,

or enriches the
important story that follows it.

An epigram can be
a short poem, song lyrics, a proverb, adage, or something witty.

It can be a
quotation, a Bible verse, a maxim, a pithy statement, or a prayer.

If you’re like
me, you’ve saved poems and quotations—in journals, in filing cabinets, in
computer documents. If you’re like me, you’ve underlined book passages,
highlighted Bible verses, and memorized song lyrics.

They caught your
attention for some reason. They have special meaning for you. Why?

Take time to
think: What happened in your past that makes that passage poignant? What experience—what wisdom, what
life-shaping event, what joy, healing, hope, what delight—does each saying
point to?

If a brief quotation
has a special meaning to you, you could—and probably should—write a story about
it.

What about those
other quotations that resonate with you? Consider writing some or all of the
stories those sayings bring to mind, and place the epigram at the beginning of
the story.

I gave you a long list of quotes last summer, and today I’m giving you more which might
work as epigrams for your vignettes. I hope they will get your mind to humming
on new story ideas:

“God gave us
memories so we could have roses in winter and mothers forever.” J. M. Barrie

“In the life of a
God-centered person, sorrow and joy can exist together. That isn't easy to
understand, but when we think about some of our deepest life experiences . . .
great sorrow and great joy are often seen to be parts of the same experience. ”
Henri Nouwen

“Sometimes the
questions are complicated and the answers are simple.” Dr. Seuss

“Don’t go where
the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Ralph
Waldo Emerson

“We are not what
we do. We are not what we have. We are not what others think of us.… I am the
beloved child of a loving Creator. ” Henri Nouwen

“To be loved but
not known is superficial. To be known and not loved is our great fear—but to be
known and loved, that transforms you.” Tim Keller

“To be yourself
in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest
accomplishment.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

“I wanted you to
see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man
with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but
you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but
sometimes you do.” Harper Lee’s character Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird

“It is not the
critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or
where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man
who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;
who strives valiantly; … who at best knows in the end the triumph of high
achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring
greatly.” Theodore Roosevelt

“Sometimes God allows something in your life
that only He can fix so that you will get to see Him fix it.” Tony Evans

“Bran thought
about it. ‘Can a man still be brave if he’s afraid?’ ‘That’s the only time a
man can be brave,’ his father told him.” George R. R. Martin

“Common sense is
genius dressed in its working clothes.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The truth is
that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply
uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments,
propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and
start searching for different ways or truer answers.” M. Scott Peck

“We know only too
well that what we are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. But if
the drop were not there, the ocean would be missing something.” Mother Teresa

“The greatest
contribution to the kingdom of God may not be something you do but someone you
raise.” Adam Stanley

“The ultimate
measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience,
but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. ” Martin Luther
King, Jr.

“To find joy in
work is to discover the fountain of youth.” Pearl S. Buck

“I’ve learned to
kiss the waves that throw me up against the Rock of Ages.” Charles Spurgeon

“A spiritual life
requires discipline because we need to learn to listen to God, who constantly
speaks but whom we seldom hear.” Henri Nouwen, Making All Things New

“If we encounter
a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.” Ralph Waldo
Emerson

“When we honestly
ask ourselves which persons in our lives mean the most to us, we often find
that it is those who, instead of giving much advice, solutions, or cures, have
chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a gentle and tender
hand. ” Henri Nouwen, Out of Solitude

“Getting over a
painful experience is much like crossing the monkey bars. You have to let go at
some point in order to move forward.” C.S. Lewis

“ … At moments of even the most humdrum of our
days, God speaks.… He speaks not just through the sounds we hear, of course,
but through events in all their complexity and variety, through the harmonies
and disharmonies and counterpoint of all that happens.” Frederick Buechner, The
Sacred Journey

“Sometimes life
takes us places we never expected to go.
And in those places God writes a story we never thought would be ours.”
Renee Swope

“In the middle of
the journey of our life I came to myself in a dark wood where the straight way
was lost.” Dante

“When it is dark
enough, you can see the stars.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Speak up for
those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are
destitute.” Proverbs 31:8

Quoting and Linking

Grandma's Letters from Africa

All I ever wanted was to live a quiet, secure life in a little white house with a picket fence and a rose garden, but my husband Dave—a free spirit who seldom limits himself to coloring within other people’s lines—and our adventuresome God had other plans. Just when our youngest finished college, both Dave and God hollered, “Africa!” You can read about my adventures in Grandma’s Letters from Africa, by Linda K. Thomas.

Grandma’s Letters from Africa received Editor’s Choice, Rising Star, and Reader's Choice awards from the publisher. In addition, the book will soon be listed in the Barnes&Noble.com Special Collections Boutique.

What others are saying

Grandma’s Letters from Africa is an engaging, memorable account of Linda’s years in Africa. It was a privilege for me to read over the shoulders of her granddaughters as Linda tells her story through a series of letters. Through both laughter and tears, she learns to balance her roles as missionary, wife, mother, and grandmother. In the process, Linda falls in love with Africa, its people, and her work. Readers will be moved by this compelling story that reveals God’s heart and extraordinary grace. (Bob Creson, President/CEO, Wycliffe USA)

Read more endorsements, reviews, and follow Linda’s blog at http://grandmaslettersfromafrica.blogspot.com